


From here and back

by taiyari



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Connor deviates on his first mission trope, Deviant Connor, Gen, M/M, Multi, Original RK800 lives, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Protective Hank Anderson, Suicidal Thoughts, two connors
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-01
Updated: 2019-07-01
Packaged: 2020-05-31 11:07:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19424728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taiyari/pseuds/taiyari
Summary: Connor is deployed to work at the Detroit Police Department on March 17th, 2038. He’s assigned to Lieutenant Hank Anderson, a hard-boiled detective that, despite his initial distrust and anger towards the android, becomes his unwilling partner first, and his first friend after the weeks pass.Six months later the first deviant to kill and take a human hostage appears, and Connor #313 248 317-51 falls saving a little girl.On November 5th, he’s replaced by a new Connor assigned to hunt the string of deviants that will soon flood over Detroit.





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> I love Conniel and got this idea stuck in my head all day yesterday. I'd decided to finish my first fic first, but by 11pm I was already typing this thing because I’m a poor excuse of an adult and have no self-control. 
> 
> Thank you for reading! And please comment :> Feedback is greatly appreciated ;v; <3
> 
> ((Sorry for any mistake, I'm not a native English speaker and I have no beta.))

**August 15th, 2038**

**7:33 PM**

He’s been assigned to Lieutenant Hank Anderson for about six months when Cyberlife calls him back to maintenance that night.

“They’re calling you back at fucking seven?”

They’re both in the Lieutenant’s car, stationed outside the man’s house. The sky is clear, not a cloud in the horizon, and Connor regrets he won’t be able to take Sumo out for a walk tonight.

“Can’t they just wait ‘till tomorrow? Season thirteen of GoT: Brotherhood premiers tonight.” The man reclines on the driver’s seat, crossing his arms, an exasperated look on his face.

“I’m sorry, Hank.” Connor smiles. “It seems there’s some urgent adjustment they need me for. Could you please wait for me to watch it when I’m back?”

Hank huffs and brings his hands to the steering wheel. “Fine. I already know how it goes, anyway.”

“Thank you, Hank.” Connor takes the door’s handle, ready to step outside. “Please tell Sumo I’ll take him out tomorrow.”

“Sure, sure, he won’t mind.” The android opens the door, and Hank moves to touch his arm, his voice a bit alarmed. “Hey, I can give you a ride, no need for a taxi.”

He smiles at him, trying to be reassuring. “It’s fine, Hank.” Connor steps outside, the man getting out and moving to his side. He looks at the moon, already on its last quarter, and makes a quick note to buy wet food for Sumo when he returns tomorrow.

“I’ll see you tomorrow at the Police Station.” He calibrates his voice to a light, teasing tone. “Please sleep soon. Don’t stay too late drinking or dozing off while watching ads on the t.v. You have to take care of your back.”

“Fucking androids.” The feigned anger of the man makes him smile, and he moves to enter the taxi that’s just arriving to pick him up. “Tell them to make you less annoying, brat!” Hank waves at him from the entrance, smiling at him. “Take care, kid!”

Connor waves back, a smile still on his lips as he enters the taxi.

He’s only five minutes into the trip when the complete report is downloaded into his access memory, and he goes through it in less than a second. A strange sensation settles in the back of his mind, his LED flashing yellow while he computes the orders Cyberlife just gave him.

He isn’t scheduled for routine maintenance, he’s not even going back to Cyberlife for tonight. He’s being deployed into a new mission, downtown Detroit, and he’s expected to deal with a malfunctioning android that’s taken a little girl hostage.


	2. The Deviant

**August 15th, 2038.**

**08:29 PM**

The Dwarf gourami swims away from Connor as soon as he takes it back into the broken aquarium, and he thinks it’s relieved and scared at the same time, the violent commotion that took it out of its home and threatened its life oblivious to the small fish.

Broken glass covers the floor, bullet holes evident in the aquarium and the front wall, and as he enters into the home the bright red instructions on his HUD prompt him to find the human in charge of the operation. He’s unfamiliar with Captain Allen and never met the man before, given that the DPD has no real connection with the special forces called into the dire situation.

When one of the victims, Caroline Phillips, age 37, yells at him to be removed from approaching his daughter, he ignores her. Some part of his code tells him it’s understandable, and that even in normal circumstances an android detective —or in this current mission, an android negotiator— can make the humans feel at least uneasy.

The first day he worked alongside Hank comes to his processor. The man was angry and uncooperative, anti-android slogans filled his desk, and he was openly hostile towards him. It was a difficult experience, and a challenge he was not properly coded for, to work alongside a human with so many psychological challenges. He likes to think, however, that the man now considers him… a friend. Months of continuously putting their trust in each other through dire situations may have done the trick.

Captain Allen is in one of the bedrooms, his team monitoring the operation, and the man is speaking loudly at someone on the phone. When he presents himself, the angry look the man gives him reminds him of Hank that first day, and he can’t find himself to be bothered by the Captain’s anger. It’s normal, after all, the situation is critical.

The deviant could jump off the roof at any second now, taking the little girl with him.

Months before, when he was given his first mission, he was instructed to look for and neutralize androids with this kind of extreme malfunctioning. He was designed to know the signs of deviancy well, to blend well enough between humans and deviants —both highly emotional— and find the reason behind the corrupted code that threatens to spread like a virus in all of them.

 _“A human can’t do it,”_ Amanda told him back then, the first and last time he reported to her. _“Only an advanced AI like yours can know and stop these deviants. Humans are too emotional for this.”_

Cyberlife had been aware of the virus of deviancy for some time and he was deployed as soon as his tests finished, even if so far he has only encountered reports of missing androids or small theft associated with them. He’s been busier helping Hank on his normal human cases than he’s been with his own specific mission.

But it looks like he’ll have to report back to Amanda tonight.

When Captain Allen leaves him to his own devices, Connor scans each room thoroughly and fast, looking for clues. The case from where the deviant took the gun. The pair of headphones that prevented the girl from listening to the outside. The video showing her with her android, both smiling warmly to the camera, praise for it falling from her lips.

The tablet near the body of John Phillips that made it clear they were going to replace it.

He doesn’t take the discarded gun from the dead officer in the dining room and decides to go out when the deviant shoots a human from the SWAT team. The penthouse’s exterior is large, various garden chairs blocking out the way, a medium pool taking half the space.

As soon as he comes out, he’s received with a shot to his shoulder. The damage registers as a red string of warnings in his HUD, and he stops himself from flinching.

“Stay back!” The deviant is yelling at him, desperation evident in its voice. “Don't come any closer or I'll jump!”

His scanners tell him the deviant’s serial number and model (PL600, #369 911 047, activated on January 2034) and he sees it’s holding the little girl, who’s crying, and its feet look highly unstable with it positioned in the very edge of the penthouse’s floor.

The deviant’s stress levels are too high, the wind from a passing helicopter destabilizing it further, and the probability of success drops 15%. His internal paths decide on taking the calm and empathizing route: after all, PL600s are designed to be agreeable, kind companions to kids and families.

“Hi, Daniel.” He raises his voice enough to be heard through the helicopter’s noise. “My name is Connor.”

“How… How do you know my name!?” The deviant’s gun keeps trained at him.

“I know a lot of things about you. I've come to get you out of this.” He begins walking, slowly, towards them. “I know you're angry, Daniel. But you need to trust me and let me help you.”

“I don't want your help! Nobody can help me!” The android’s stress level raises another 8%, and its voice sounds desperate, hopeless. “All I want is for all this to stop... I... I just want all this to stop…”

Connor has encountered a couple of deviants before, but only in passing, rogue androids that were reported as lost and always managed to escape… he suspects Hank lets them, not really caring about catching them, and he’s not said anything since they didn’t pose a real threat to any human at the time.

But this is different, a world of difference, because he’s face to face with an android whose emotions have become so unstable and unpredictable he’s taken a little girl hostage and killed two human beings. And Connor can see the android is clearly suffering, trapped in a path he should never have been able to cross.

He takes a few more steps.

“I'm an android, just like you. I know how you're feeling.”

“What difference does it make if you're an android? You're on their side!” The deviant trains the gun to the girl’s head and she keeps sobbing. “You can't understand how I'm feeling.”

 _Can’t I?_ If this had happened before he met the Lieutenant, he’s sure he wouldn’t. His AI would be brand new, inexperienced with the world, and he would be too set in the belief that they can’t feel anything. That it’s only errors in their software.

He remembers the deviant's happy face in the video, holding the little girl close, and he thinks of Sumo, and the Lieutenant, and at least he knows being with them must feel similar as to what the deviant felt when it was with the girl.

“I know you’re scared and confused, and you don’t really want to hurt Emma.”

The deviant opens his mouth to talk, but he can barely hear what he’s murmuring, eyes round and face contorted in fear.

He moves a chair blocking his way, and from the corner of his eye, he sees Officer M. Wilson on the ground, a bullet through his left arm, losing blood fast. He needs to help him, and he remembers the couple of times he’s talked with him at the Police Station, and he thinks it’s a shame he was on duty when all this happened. He moves to crunch beside him, still making his movements slow and deliberate, and he can hear the officer calling for him in his breath.

“He's losing blood. I'm going to apply a tourniquet.” He takes out his tie, but the deviant fires a warning shot that comes too close to them.

“Don't touch him! Touch him and I kill you!” It’s risky, but he can’t let Officer Wilson die here.

“If we don't get him to a hospital, he's going to die.” Connor begins applying the makeshift tourniquet to the man.

“All humans die eventually. What does it matter if this one dies now?”

Officer Wilson needs immediate medical attention. Connor needs to hurry.

“They were going to replace you and you became upset.” He stands from the fallen officer and continues his slow advance towards the other android. “That's what happened, right?”

“I thought I was part of the family. I thought I mattered… But I was just their toy, something to throw away when you're done with it…” His words are laced with pain, and Connor thinks that if it’s indeed an error in its software, that this could happen to any of them, then it’s a cruel mistake from the human that coded them.

 _So what if you feeling happy it’s just a few lines of misplaced code?_ He remembers Hank’s voice, from the first time he took him and Sumo to a dog park. It’s a memory file he particularly likes, and the first time Hank hugged him. _You’re still feeling it, don’t you?_

He had expressed confusion at feeling so… pleased, at his biocomponents working as if recently calibrated, concern at how he laughed and laughed when Sumo, completely covered in mud, tackled them both into the park’s grass.

_If you’re feeling it, Connor, then it’s real. Fucking error or not._

“Listen, I know it's not your fault.” _How could it be?_ “These emotions you're feeling are just errors in your software.”

“No, it's not my fault... I never wanted this... I loved them, you know… but I was nothing to them… just a slave to be ordered around…”

If he were assigned to another case, if he could never see Sumo and Hank again, would he be angry? Sad? Would it cause him any pain?

All androids are designed over the same base code. And if he’s capable of feeling happiness, the opposite must be possible, too.

He gives a quick glance around, to locate the exact points where the SWAT snipers are stationed, and he feels his Thirium pump constrain at the thought that as soon as the deviant lets the girl go, they’ll destroy it.

“Urgggh... I can't stand that noise anymore!” The deviant is destabilizing fast again. “Tell that helicopter to get out of here!”

He can’t risk him falling, so he gives the helicopter the signal, lets them know the situation is under control.

“There, I did what you wanted.” He’s a few feet away from it now. He needs to act soon.

“You have to trust me, Daniel. Let the hostage go and I promise you everything will be fine.”

“I don't wanna die…” His voice is low, full of fear, and Connor thinks it’s unfair he has to be destroyed. If it were a human, it would go through their justice system, get a trial, and a chance to repent.

_But we’re machines. You’ll be killed, and I’m helping them kill you._

The thought sends a flash of software instability warnings through his HUD, and Connor feels trapped, against a red wall ordering him to let the deviant die.

_What would Hank do? He’s a human, he may have been able to stop them from killing him._

The red string of errors begins to impair his vision, and he knows he’s running out of time. He can make him let the girl go, but then, what?

_Hank’s put himself in danger for me before. I wish I could talk to him._

The logical paths to follow flash in front of him, unmoving, uncaring of what he or the deviant feels, set firmly in the goal of accomplishing his mission and nothing else. It takes microseconds for him to compute all the possible outcomes to this, all the scenarios where he dies, where the girl falls, where he accomplishes his mission. In all of them, Daniel dies.

_How can I save you?_

He takes a step closer and tries to make his voice low enough only Daniel can hear him. The red wall is still there, but it’s unstable, and Connor feels frustrated until an idea comes to his mind.

“I want to help you, Daniel.” He extends his arm, lets his white skin show. “Let me show you, and I promise you and Emma will be alright.”

Daniel’s eyes are wide open, his mouth open in disbelief, but still, he extends his arm, the gun pointing at Connor’s stomach, and he lets Connor grab him, pulling him far from the edge.

He’s immediately filled with the android’s emotions and memory data, the strength of the connection dizzying, and he struggles to reroute it to show Daniel he’s saying the truth, to control Daniel’s emotions running wild as their minds become tangled with the sudden influx of data.

They’re both the same person for those precious microseconds, only one entity in that instant, and he sees Sumo, running out of his grasp and him falling into the grass, Hank’s laugh deep and sincere. He's helping Emma make a thousand paper cranes, the last precious one given to him and only him. Hank ruffling his hair, making fun of his goofy voice and big eyes, the words affectionate and warm. Emma hugging him, acrylic paints staining his uniform, and he doesn’t care when both of them end up covered in streaks of bright yellow, and red, and a soft blue Emma says it’s the same color as his eyes and the bright sky.

A tight hug when he takes a bullet aimed towards Hank. A soft kiss on his cheek every night, Emma laughing when he tousles her hair.

The sounds of gunshots and Emma crying almost cut down the connection and Connor tries to reroute all his access memory into returning them to the present, to talk directly with Daniel, to take them both out of this.

_They’ll shoot you as soon as you let Emma go. But I can prevent it._

Daniel’s mind's too overwhelmed, and he’s finding it more difficult to manage the connection, his systems beginning to crash.

_You know how it feels, I can’t, I can’t do it, I just want all this to stop!_

_Let me help! Let Emma go and I’ll see you sustain as little damage as possible!_

Connor feels Daniel’s desperation and terror as his own, and he’s beginning to get lost in the whirl of images and emotions Daniel can’t control. But this is their only chance.

The nearby sound of gunshots and SWAT members approaching them fast almost severe the link, and Connor knows they’ve run out of time.

He grabs Emma by the arm and tosses her far away, trying to quickly calculate where she can land with minimal damage, and as soon as the girl’s on the floor he feels a bullet making its way on his right flank, stress and fear spiking up as he feels it puncturing and tearing up the delicate plates and muscles there.

But it’s not him who’s damaged, it’s Daniel, both still connected, and before the humans can keep firing at them he closes the distance with the other android, shielding him. _I’m sorry, Daniel. You have to trust me!_ Daniel’s too distress to answer, only static crossing their bond, and Connor feels another bullet but this time it has found its way into his own left shoulder.

He reroutes his batterie’s energy towards their central power surge, short circuits them both to stop the humans from destroying them further, and Daniel falls into his arms, forced into shut down, and among the static and red warnings completely impairing his vision he sees the two seconds he has left before he goes offline too. He uses them to make a sign to the SWAT team behind him, to try and make them stop from firing at them.

“Let Cyberlife retrieve him!” He tries to scream, but he can’t hear himself, and he vaguely thinks his voice coder may be malfunctioning, and that now Hank will miss the show premier tomorrow too because he’s not coming back.

The red wall in front of him is now only broken code when they both collapse into the floor.


	3. Interlude

**August 16th, 2038.**

**09:30 AM**

As soon as Hank sits on his chair, Fowler is calling him into his office.

 _Ugh, what now?_ He takes a sip of his coffee and checks his phone for any missed messages. Connor’s still not here, and he has not sent any news yet. He stands from the desk and greets Chen and Miller on his way to the office, both of them glued to a tablet with some news footage on it.

“Hey, Lieutenant!” Miller calls. “You saw the news last night? What did Connor tell you?”

He grumbles. “No, I didn’t, went to sleep early. And I haven’t seen Connor today.” He enters Fowler’s office, almost misses the quiet _‘Oh’_ both officers give him. He pays them no attention.

Jeffrey is seated on his desk, position informal, and a tablet with what seems the same news coverage playing on it.

“You should sit down for this.” He tells him, and Hank's annoyed with the condescending tone Jeffrey gives him.

“Goddammit, what now?” He pinches the bridge of his nose.

“There was a hostage situation downtown last night.” The man leaves the tablet on his desk, stops it from playing the video. “What did Connor tell you about it?”

“He told me shit about it.” He crosses his arms. “Wait, was he involved? He just left last night, told me he was getting routine maintenance.”

Jeffrey sighs, plays with his wedding ring. “Well, he clearly didn’t. He was sent as the Negotiator into the mess. Wilson’s in the hospital, got shot when he went in as backup. I spoke with him ten minutes ago, he’s stabilized and will be able to return in around a month. Says Connor saved him.”

Hank frowns. “I’m glad he’s alright, but what the hell was Connor doing as a Negotiator in that mess? He's a fucking android detective.”

“Yeah, well.” Jeffrey frowns, and Hank has the sinking feeling these were only the good news, to help ease the real bomb. “This was very different from the usual hostage situation. The assailant was the family’s domestic android.”

“ _What?_ ” Hank straightens in the chair. “Their android went crazy and took the family hostage?”

“It went crazy and killed two men, took a little girl hostage and injured various officers.” Jeffrey crosses his arms, clearly distressed. “Cyberlife sent Connor in to negotiate with it.”

“Fucking shit." He passes a hand through his hair. "And I guess he made it, then. The little girl’s alright?” Hank’s beginning to feel a pit in his stomach.

“Yes, he rescued the girl, neutralized the rogue android...” Jeffrey stalls for a moment, his eyes not looking at him.

“And?” Hank’s getting tired of this, the knot in his stomach growing with Jeffrey’s hesitation. “He made it, it’s not our case, so what? Jeffrey?”

The man sighs before looking Hank in the eye. “I’m sorry, Hank. I know you’ve grown attached to this android.”

“What?” Hank’s voice can’t hide his sudden anger. “Goddammit Jeffrey, stop beating around the bush!”

Jeffrey finally sighs, his gaze steady on Hank, and he puts a hand on his shoulder.

“Connor was destroyed last night. I’m sorry.”

Hank’s eyes go wide, his mouth dry, and for a minute he says nothing, the news feeling distant and surreal.

The feeling is similar as to when Cole died three years ago, he bitterly thinks, and for a moment his mind just yells at him that he can’t do this one more time. Why did he have to get so damned attached to the fucking android? Why does this feel like he’s being left alone and broken once again?

He can’t stop the sinking feeling flooding him now, but he doesn’t want the whole fucking department to see him cry over a robot, so he hides his face on his right hand and tries to breathe, to swallow the tears and anger overwhelming him.

Jeffrey gives him the day off and Hank leaves the office, quiet and fast as if escaping the place, his phone, his jacket and everything else forgotten behind on his desk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I can keep this story short and sweet! I love angst but can't really write it, so let's see where this one goes...
> 
> Thank you for reading and for commenting!!! I appreciate a lot your feedback!
> 
> See you next chapter! :>


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